AI infrastructure firms slump as US rate hike bets rise

FILE PHOTO: The words "AI Infrastructure", a keyboard and a robotic hand in this illustration taken September 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Shares of ⁠debt-heavy AI firms tumbled on Wednesday as prospects of higher ⁠interest rates intensified concerns over the financing of the industry's ‌massive buildout.

Companies whose shares had rallied earlier this year on AI optimism were some of the worst performers on the main benchmarks.

Here are the details:

• Shares of ​neocloud firms Nebius and CoreWeave dropped 15.1% ⁠and 9.5%, respectively

• CoreWeave stock ⁠set to wipe out about a quarter of its value this ⁠month, ‌Nebius set to erase almost 20%

• Data center operators Applied Digital and IREN down 8.8% and 9.9%, respectively

• Shares ⁠of debt-laden AI hyperscaler Oracle were down 7.2% and ​most of its ‌dollar bonds had also declined

• "Investors are questioning whether the AI ⁠buildout will ​generate the returns that were expected," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners

• AI server makers Dell and HPE dropped 10.3% ⁠and 6.4%, respectively, as Barclays downgraded the ​ratings on the stocks to "equal-weight" from "overweight"

• "Valuations have run, commodity costs have helped revenues, and we don't see a meaningful AI inflection yet," Barclays said

• ⁠Higher rates mean elevated costs for firms borrowing to build data centers and buy AI chips

• The prospect of a second Federal Reserve rate hike as soon as this month rose following hot ​consumer price data

• 10-year Treasury yields climbed 3.6 ⁠bps, two-year yields jumped 7.2 bps

• The cost of insuring debt ​against defaults for some AI companies, including ‌Oracle and CoreWeave, surged to record highs, ​as per S&P Global Market Intelligence data

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Darshan Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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资料图片：这张摄于2026年9月23日的插图显示了“人工智能基础设施”字样、键盘和机械手。路透社/Dado Ruvic/插图/资料图片

10 月 14 日（路透社）——由于利率上升的前景加剧了人们对该行业大规模建设融资的担忧，负债累累的人工智能公司的股价周三暴跌。

今年早些时候，受人工智能前景乐观情绪推动股价上涨的公司，在主要指数中表现最差。

详情如下：

• 新云公司Nebius和CoreWeave的股价分别下跌了15.1%和9.5%。

CoreWeave股票本月预计将蒸发约四分之一的市值，Nebius预计将蒸发近20%。

数据中心运营商Applied Digital和IREN的股价分别下跌了8.8%和9.9%。

• 负债累累的人工智能超大规模数据中心提供商甲骨文公司的股价下跌了7.2%，其大部分美元债券的价格也出现下跌。

Bokeh Capital Partners首席投资官Kim Forrest表示：“投资者质疑人工智能的建设能否带来预期的回报。”

• 人工智能服务器制造商戴尔和HPE的股价分别下跌了10.3%和6.4%，原因是巴克莱银行将这两家公司的股票评级从“增持”下调至“中性”。

巴克莱银行表示：“估值已经上涨，大宗商品成本上涨推高了营收，而且我们尚未看到人工智能领域出现实质性转折点。”

• 更高的利率意味着企业借贷建设数据中心和购买人工智能芯片的成本会增加。

• 消费者价格数据火爆，市场对美联储本月第二次加息的预期有所上升。

• 10年期美国国债收益率上涨3.6个基点，2年期国债收益率上涨7.2个基点

根据标普全球市场情报的数据，包括Oracle和CoreWeave在内的一些人工智能公司，其债务违约保险成本飙升至历史新高。

（班加罗尔 Shashwat Chauhan 和 Darshan Kumar 报道；Shinjini Ganguli 编辑）

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